Canada's early growth and indeed her very
existence as a nation following Confederation depended on the construction
of rail lines to link the provinces and to span the continent. It is
fitting, therefore, that the Confederation Train should traverse the
country in 1967 to remind Canadians of this historical fact.

But the Confederation Train is no ordinary
train. It is a train of adventure; a moving panorama of Canada from
pre-historic times through Confederation to the present.

For the hundreds of thousands of Canadians
and their guests who will visit the train as it stops across the country
during 1967, it will be a lasting experience. They will come to know
what it was like in Canada after the ice age lefts its indelible mark upon
the land. They will come face to face with the realities experienced
by the first settlers and explorers. They will be able to pause and
reflect upon the meaning and significance of Confederation itself in the
chamber devoted to this memorable event.

The visitor to the train will feel what it
was like to take steerage passage to Canada from Europe as so many
Canadian immigrants did. He will be surrounded by the atmosphere
experienced by the Canadian soldier in the First World War. He will
be taken dramatically through the boom and bust of the twenties and
re-live the atmosphere of the hungry thirties.

How can all this possibly happen within the
confines of six specially designed railway cars? That is the
surprise that awaits each visitor as he passes to enter the train.
It is a surprise that must be experienced.

The Confederation Train will make
exhibition stops in most of Canada's major cities and towns. It will
begin on the west cost at Victoria, B.C., on January 9th and move eastward
until it reaches the Maritimes on October 26th. Then it will swing
back into Québec for a four-city tour before completing its itinerary in
Montréal.